For Adam Schiff, censure is a gift from House Republicans

 https://news.yahoo.com/column-adam-schiff-censure-gift-120056282.html

The rebuke from the House GOP boosted Schiff's political stock even further, edging the Burbank Democrat closer to his goal of besting a handful of party rivals and succeeding Dianne Feinstein as the next U.S. senator from California.

"I would call it an advertisement for Adam Schiff," Bob Shrum, a veteran Democratic strategist who teaches political science at USC, said following the party-line censure vote. "Brought to you by the MAGA caucus in the Republican House."

In today's nihilistic political climate, what a candidate accomplishes is increasingly less important to partisans than whom they antagonize along the way.

With enemies like Trump and his acolytes, Schiff might well ask, who needs friends?

Weiss-Dodelson : R' Avraham Meir Weiss had already agreed to binding arbitration back in May 2013

I was asked to print this letter today written by Rav Dovid Feinstein - the son of Rav Reuven Feinstein. It is important to be aware that Gital's husband - Rabbi Avraham Meir Weiss - had in fact agreed to binding arbitration with the widely respected askan - Rabbi Ronald Greenwald back in May 2013. It is not clear why Gital Dodelson thought it necessary to give the interview to the  New York Post telling the whole world that she was an Aguna chained to a failed marriage by her husband and Torah - and that only public outrage would free her. It is odd that she failed to mention that she had unilaterally abandoned binding arbitration which her husband had already agreed to in writing.

 She concluded the NY Post article with the following:

It’s an insulated community. It takes a strong push to step out beyond that. This step I’m taking is difficult but necessary. I’ve decided to go public with my story after exhausting every other possible means. the Orthodox are fiercely private, but I am willing to air my dirty laundry if it means I can finally get on with my life.

Avrohom, if you’re reading this, this is my last bid: Let’s both move on with our lives. Let us focus on Aryeh and our future, instead of being stuck in the past.

I think that all reasonable people will agree with the sentiment that are expressed in this letter. If Gital really wants a Get - it is clearly available - but only through good faith negotiations.

   Rav Dovid Feinstein's plea to set Gital free

Yair Lapid gives Knesset Torah lesson after haredi MK says LGBT are 'Israel's greatest danger'

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-747492

Finally, Lapid accused the Haredi MKs of one of the sins mentioned in Proverbs, creating rifts and conflicts among the people of Israel "which is exactly what you do today, from morning til evening."

Harvard behavior scientist who studied honesty accused of fabricating data: report

 https://nypost.com/2023/06/24/harvard-behavior-scientist-who-studied-honesty-accused-of-fabricating-data/

Harvard Business School’s Francesca Gino allegedly chalked up phony results tied to studies, including one focused on honest behavior, the New York Times reported.

Trump’s business deal with Oman raises new ethical questions

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trumps-business-deal-with-oman-raises-new-ethical-questions

He was quite friendly with Saudi Arabia. And so now, after he leaves office, his son-in-law gets $2 billion worth of investment from the Saudi public sovereign — sovereign wealth fund. And then the sovereign wealth fund always — also LIV Golf. And LIV Golf puts several of its tournaments at Trump golf courses in the United States.

And this — there's a lot of money between the Middle Eastern companies, be it in Saudi Arabia or now in Oman, and Trump business operations that overlap with his activities as president. What were those deals and reward for his actions as president? It's an open question.

Did the biblical prophet Moses promise his firstborn son to idolatry?

 https://www.jpost.com/judaism/article-747272

In an unexpected passage in the Midrash, the sages recount a deal struck between Moses and his future father-in-law, Jethro. Moses had already decided to serve God when he came to Jethro to ask for Zipporah’s hand in marriage. Before giving his blessing, Jethro asks Moses for one undertaking.“What is it?” inquired Moses. 

Jethro explains: “Your first child should be for idol worship, from here onwards,” – referring to subsequent children – “they will be for the sake of Heaven.” 

When Moses said to Jethro, "Give me your daughter Tzipporah as a wife", Jethro answered, "If you do what I ask of you, I will give her to you as a wife." Moses said: "What do you ask?" Jethro replied: "Your first son must serve idolatry. The following sons may serve God in heaven." Moses accepted. Jethro said: "Swear." And Moses swore. [Mechilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 18:3]

Prigozhin’s coup attempt unleashes chaos on Russia

 https://www.vox.com/2023/6/23/23771853/wagner-group-russia-prigozhin-feud

Russia is in turmoil as the leader of a powerful paramilitary group staged an armed and brazen challenge to the Russian regime.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the private military company, the Wagner Group, said Saturday that his forces will halt their march on Moscow, and that he is “turning around our columns and returning to field camps according to plan.” We don’t know what that plan is, but Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko claimed to have reached a deal with Prigozhin. Prigozhin has denied a deal, saying he turned around to avoid bloodshed.

‘Freaked Out’ Russia Shocked by Military Coup Against Putin

 https://www.thedailybeast.com/freaked-out-russia-shocked-by-military-coup-against-putin?ref=home?ref=home

Millions of Russians woke up on Saturday to shocked social media messages and baffling memes depicting a full-on civil war.

Fox News Analyst Pours Cold Water on Hunter Biden Allegations

 https://www.newsweek.com/fox-news-analyst-pours-cold-water-hunter-biden-allegations-1808842

What we have this week was a decision by a Trump-appointed prosecutor who had full authority over the case, by his own account, to bring two misdemeanor charges basically against Hunter Biden," Williams said. "That was it. All these other things that we're hearing about, an app message? We don't know if the president was involved and he wasn't even president or vice president at the time. This was from 2017."

Williams went on to compare the allegations against Biden to the Steele Dossier, a 2016 report that alleged collusion between Trump's presidential campaign and Russia. In making the comparison, he dismissed the Hunter allegations touted by Republicans as "a bunch of rumors and innuendo" with "no hard evidence, no proof, nothing."

Russia Demands U.S. Pay Reparations for Helping Ukraine in War

 https://www.newsweek.com/russia-us-antonov-blinken-reparations-ukraine-war-1808439

Russia Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov speaks during a World Affairs event at the Fairmont Hotel on November 29, 2017 in San Francisco, California. He has demanded that the U.S. pays reparations for helping Ukraine in the war.

Republicans Are Smearing the Bidens Like They Did Hillary Clinton

 https://newrepublic.com/article/173811/republicans-smearing-bidens-like-hillary-clinton

The point of the GOP-led investigations into his actions wasn’t to actually find evidence of criminal activity, as much as they would have welcomed it, but to create an aura of corruption and criminality around the 2020 and 2024 Democratic presidential candidate in much the same way they did against the party’s 2016 nominee. To their immense frustration, Republicans haven’t yet succeeded in that enterprise against Biden.

Lieu blasts ‘dumb’ Durham hearing: Republicans focused on ‘stupid stuff’

Supporters blast Netanyahu trial after report shows bribery case falling apart

 https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-747353

"After years of media and legal persecution against the prime minister, a persecution that has turned an entire country, today the judges also say clearly that there is no chance of a conviction for bribery," said Education Minister Yoav Kisch in response to a Channel 12 report about a secret meeting about Case 4000 between the judges, State Attorney's Office representatives, and Netanyahu and Bezeq owner Shaul Elovitch's lawyers.

Behind the Hunter Biden hype: GOP scramble to keep up the outrage — but they've got nothing

 https://www.salon.com/2023/06/21/behind-the-hunter-biden-hype-scramble-to-keep-up-the-outrage--but-theyve-got-nothing/

I would have thought that no sentient being on the planet would have the nerve to compare what Donald Trump is accused of with the charges against Hunter Biden. Not even Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif. But as long as we're talking about him, perhaps McCarthy would care to comment on the big story By Eric Lipton in the New York Times yesterday about the Trump family's latest "sweetheart deal" with the governments of Saudi Arabia and Oman.